drinking
drink·ing/ˈdɹɪŋk.ɪŋ/noun, adjective, verb
drinking is spelled D-R-I-N-K-I-N-G: 8 letters and 2 syllables (drink·ing). It appears 51 times per million words in written English, the 1,993rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, drinking means “An act or session by which drink is consumed, especially alcoholic beverages” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of drinking is drinkings.
How many letters and syllables are in drinking?
| Letters | 8: D-R-I-N-K-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: drink·ing |
| In writing | 51 times per million words; the 1,993rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is drinking?
Drinking appears 51 times per million words in written English, the 1,993rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce drinking?
- /ˈdɹɪŋk.ɪŋ/
- /ˈd͡ʒɹɪŋk.ɪŋ/
- /ˈdɹɪnk.ɪnɡ/
Drinking has 2 syllables, split drink·ing in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-drinking.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of drinking
- drinkings plural
- more drinking comparative
- most drinking superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does drinking mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An act or session by which drink is consumed, especially alcoholic beverages.
Some say drinking is a vice.
adjective
- 1
Suitable to drink.
drinking water
- 2
Used to drink.
a drinking glass
- 3
Addicted to alcohol.
Are they a drinking person?
- 4
Pertaining to alcohol consumption, especially in excess.
drinking companions
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of drink
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Drinking in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense act or session by which drink is consumed:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does drinking come from?
Inherited from Middle English [Term?]. By surface analysis, drink + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).